As Frank Sargeson’s protégé, Maurice Duggan was one of a group of exponents of the master’s style termed the “Sons of Sargeson”. These included fellow Provincial realists A. P. Gaskell, O. E. Middleton and John Reece Cole. Although the critical response to Duggan’s work has been limited in quantity, it has been diverse in quality. It focuses on a fundamental division in Duggan's stylistic practice, which itself lies at the heart of an ongoing argument about realism in New Zealand fiction. Some see Duggan extending the Provincial, secular realist story exemplified by Sargeson; others identify his prose as firmly developing the Mansfield tradition of symbolic, experimental impressionism. There is a degree of accuracy in both positions, yet Duggan’s fiction remains a stylistic…
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Citation: Gwynne, Joel. "Maurice Duggan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 September 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1343, accessed 22 November 2024.]
